Vine Brook
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Vine Brook is a brook in Middlesex County, United States. According to the History of Bedford, Vine Brook is "an important tributary of Shawsheen River." The book also states it as an excellent source of water-power in the 17th to 19th Centuries. Vine Brook flows from the "Old Reservoir," at a public park off Marrett Road in Lexington, then meets Upper Vine Brook (one of its tributaries), then continues northward through Lexington Centre, through Butterfield's Pond on the Lexington-
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
border, underneath the Middlesex Mall and Burlington Mall (in a culvert), remaining northward and parallel to the Middlesex Turnpike for a ways, then meets Long Meadow Brook (one of its tributaries), then part of it branches off to form Sandy Brook, then continues to flow northwesterly over the Burlington-
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
border, to Route 3 at Burlington Road, then crosses over Rte. 3 to an old millpond, and empties into the
Shawsheen River The Shawsheen River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts. The name has had various spellings. ...
. (The Shawsheen, in turn, empties into the
Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...
, which then empties into the Atlantic Ocean.) Vine Brook is one of the best-known water features in Lexington, and is closely identified with the histories of Lexington and Burlington, due to the several mills which once operated on its banks. The brook lends its name to many local streets and developments. Several segments of the brook, in all three towns it passes through, are parts of town-owned conservation land parks.


Tributaries

Vine Brook has two major tributaries. * Upper Vine Brook. Source: Wetlands off Marrett Road, primarily to eastern side of Kendall Road, Lexington. This tributary, in modern times, is often mistakenly assumed to be the main channel of Vine Brook. * Long Meadow Brook. Source: Between Indian Hill Road and Arlington Road, Burlington.


Branches

Vine Brook has one secondary branch. * Sandy Brook. Just past the Burlington Mall (going downstream), a branch breaks off Vine Brook to form Sandy Brook.


General History

Before the first white settlers came around the 1630s, the Indians had formed no permanent settlement near Vine Brook in Lexington, as the water supply was not great enough for an entire tribe. However, towards the Shawsheen River there were settlements, as that was certainly a greater body of water. (While Vine Brook was small in those days, though, it did have fish.) When the first settlement was made at Lexington circa 1642, it was near Vine Brook. As can be seen in the next section, there was a great use of the Brook for mills, from the 17th to 19th Centuries. In the early 20th Century, however, the practical use of the Brook switched to irrigation for neighboring farms, as Lexington was still very much a farming community up to around the 1950s. In the 1930s, as part of a
WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...
project, the Brook was widened and deepened from its original shallow, narrow bed from Hayes Lane to Emerson Road, all in Lexington. This was to better use it for irrigation purposes. (Today, much of the brook bed is reverting to its natural size, gradually filling back in with silt.) In addition, it was culverted from Hayes Lane back upstream to Vine Brook Road in Lexington. Today, a great deal of the Brook is on town-owned conservation land parks. Though many sections of the Brook have had their appearance altered over the years, some areas still remain relatively as they were in the Colonial days and before.


Mills

There have been several mills on Vine Brook over the centuries, and it is this industry that has so connected the brook to the towns it passes through. According to the History of Bedford, at the time it was written, "the only motive-powers, utilized t that time in Bedfordare on the Shawshine River and Vine Brook." According to the Bedford town website, when Bedford was being incorporated as a separate town from Billerica, there were negotiations as to which town would retain rights to the Vine Brook area, due to its valuable water-power. Following are known mills listed in downstream order, with locations, and dates if known: * Muzzey mill, date unknown. Approximate site: Today's 1666 Mass. Ave., Lexington. * Estabrook mill, date unknown. Approximate site: Rear of today's 1625 Mass. Ave., Lexington. The millpond created as a result of this mill was used afterwards (19th Century) for baptisms by the First Baptist Church of Lexington. * Wyman fulling mill, before 1794. Exact site: At Butterfield's Pond and North Street, Lexington, opposite today's 113 North Street. (See Gibbs mill, below.) * Gibbs mill, on same site as Wyman fulling mill (see above). Burned 1840s. Foundations still visible. * Locke grist mill, before 1794. Exact site: At Butterfield's Pond and Lowell Street, just over the town line into Burlington. * Reed saw mill, before 1794. Still existent in the 1890s. Approximate site: Off Middlesex Turnpike, between Adams Street and Route 128, Burlington. * Vine Brook Mill, originally circa 1645, rebuilt twice afterwards. The first mill was the Bacon mill; this was burned by Indians in
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
. Then came the Wilson corn mill, built 1685, and later used by the Blodgets and Gleasons. It was apparently this mill that Ashbys and Fitches used as well. And then, circa 1840, a paper mill was built on the site. According to the History of Bedford, this mill produced coarse paper and employed many people. When the mill burned (circa 1850-1860?), the second mill to burn on that site, about one tenth of the town's residents moved away. The millpond created by this mill is still visible today. Exact site: Foundations still visible off Burlington Road, Bedford, near corner of Route 3. * Saw Mill(s): the History of Bedford also mentions saw mills located on both the Shawsheen River and Vine Brook; specific locations or other details are not mentioned. These mills created millponds which were used for cutting ice. (In addition, ice was cut from Butterfield's Pond by Wyman's Mill.)


Conservation lands

Many stretches of Vine Brook are owned by their respective towns, as conservation land. This body of water is vital to the wildlife of its respective towns; The Bedford town website notes that the old millpond at Vine Brook and Route 3 "is one of the few open bodies of water in Bedford and supplements an important wildlife
habitat corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
along Route 3 which supports a diverse wildlife population." Following is a list of conservation areas that include sections of the Brook. * Lexington: There are two parcels of conservation land in Lexington which touch on parts of Vine Brook. Lower Vine Brook is about , and can be accessed from the end of Utica Street; this parcel is bordered for a good stretch by a paved bikeway along the Brook. The Upper Vine Brook parcel encompasses some of Upper Vine Brook, one of the tributaries to the main Vine Brook; this parcel is about , and can be accessed from Highland Avenue. * Burlington: A section of Vine Brook, near where Sandy Brook breaks off from it, is today a conservation land park owned by the Town of Burlington (22 acres). Further upstream on Sandy Brook is another town-owned park (5 acres). In addition, there is another town-owned park (3.78 acres) off Chadwick Road, that touches on part of Sandy Brook. There is conservation land at part of Long Meadow Brook, a tributary of Vine Brook. There is also the "Muller Road Conservation Land" (over 3 acres), which sits just behind Vine Pond. (Vine Pond is connected, and sits next to, Vine Brook.) * Bedford: A large section of the Shawsheen River is town-owned conservation land, not far from where Vine Brook empties into the River. Small boats can be used in the Shawsheen.


Etymology and spelling

In 1636 is the first deed reference to land that is now Lexington. It granted of upland and meadow to a Mr. Harlackenden of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, at "Vynebrooke." Vine Brook probably took its name from grape vines growing by its banks.
John Josselyn John Josselyn ( fl. 1638 – 1675) was a seventeenth-century English traveller to New England who wrote with credulity about what he saw and heard during his sojourn there before returning to England. Yet his books give some of the earliest and ...
(in his "New England's Rarities") and other writers from the 17th Century (such as William Wood in his "New England's Prospect") noted the abundance of grape vines, primarily in low, wet areas. The type of grape that probably grew at Vine Brook was
Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Co ...
, or "Fox Grape." These same 17th Century authors noted the great size of these grapes (nearly four inches around in some cases), and enjoyed the sweet flavor. There are still a few grape vines which grow at the Brook's bank in Lexington today, on conservation land. It is quite probable that there was an ancient Indian name for this brook, though it is not known. The
Nipmuck The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...
Indians were frequent passers-through in the Vine Brook area, though they had no permanent settlement there. A loose translation of "Vine Brook" into Natick Algonquin would be "Wenonis Seep," literally grapevine river.


Flooding

The Brook would frequently flood Waltham Street, Lexington, in the Colonial days. The residents of the Southwest part of town would complain that they could not get to "meeting," or church. March 14 and 15, 2010, has seen the only major flood in recent years. North Street in Lexington was nearly submerged, and Vine Brook's swelling contributed to major flooding on the
Shawsheen River The Shawsheen River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts. The name has had various spellings. ...
.


Bibliography

* * Accessible at Cary Memorial Library, Lexington.


References


See also

*
Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...
*
Burlington, Massachusetts Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,377 at the 2020 census. History It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, but this has never b ...
*
Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...
*
Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and ...
{{authority control Rivers of Middlesex County, Massachusetts Burlington, Massachusetts Lexington, Massachusetts Bedford, Massachusetts Rivers of Massachusetts